Story and photo by Lindsey Chester.

Cary, NC- Narong Sapsuwan, owner of Thai Spices and Sushi, came to Cary and opened his restaurant four years ago, but his journey began long before that.

Journey from Thailand

Narong’s sister had left Bangkok more than twenty years ago to “make her fortune”, and settled in the Berkeley area of California, where she opened her own restaurant, Thai Delight Cuisine. About ten years after that, she asked Narong if he could come to help her. He was married and had 2 children at the time, but made the move with his family to this country and eventually took over her business. He remodeled her restaurant and after 1-1/2 years his business improved about 50%.

He still owns that restaurant with his niece, and his sister still helps out. In fact Narong told me, he will travel to California next week to check up on things.

Choice Between Boulder and Cary

Four years ago, Narong started to think about expanding.   He visited fifteen cities that were listed as top places, finally making a choice between Boulder, Colorado and Cary, NC. When he found his current location at Preston Corners, the deal was sealed.

Narong moved first, renting an apartment adjacent to the shopping center. He left his family behind in California for 2 years, while he got started. He said when he opened in 2008 the economy was very tough to open a new business. He persevered and has survived and now business is picking up.

A Few Favorites

I frequent the restaurant for lunch and often choose a bento box. A Bento Box is a complete lunch, with salad, kimchee, spring roll, rice and a main dish (like House Curry with Chicken) all for under $10. They feature a Massaman curry shipped all the way form Bangkok, as authentic as it gets.

Other favorites include their incredibly fresh sushi. You can see the chef make his creations from most any seat in the house. One of the best are Spider Rolls, (Soft shell crab, asparagus, avocado and masago with spicy mayonnaise)  for just under $10.

Many Thai food lovers will order the Pad Thai, which is another one of our favorites. Their large platter is just under $10 and includes stir-fried thin rice noodles with ground peanuts, tofu, egg, scallions and bean sprouts. You’ll have plenty left to take home to enjoy the next day for lunch!

The staff is always friendly, and the atmosphere inside is an oasis from the usual strip mall box. With private booth and trickling fountain you will think you’ve left Cary. If you are lucky enough to live within 3 miles of the restaurant, they offer free delivery.

Go Local: Thai Sushi & Spices

Thai Spices and Sushi
Preston Corners Shopping Center
986 High House Rd (at Cary Parkway)
Cary, NC

http://thaispicesandsushi.com/

Story by Lindsey Chester. Photo by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC – This past year, we have reported on Downtown development with an eye to what the Town of Cary has purchased and developed.

In this article, we take a look at the independent businesses now open in the core area of downtown – chiefly Academy and Chatham Streets.

Unwine’d

The most recent addition to the Cary retail and dining scene is Unwine’d,  a wine bar located in the Olde Cary Commons building at the corner of Harrison and West Chatham Street.

Owner Scott Higgenbotham  opened his doors in mid December and immediately began offering Thursday night wine tastings from 5:30- 7 and offers live jazz music every Friday night. The location has 2 bar areas and a light menu served from 4- midnight, they are open Monday- Saturday. Scott promises it is a great place to have a meeting because he has free WiFi and will be adding a coffee option soon.

Soul Food Coming Soon

Another new spot soon to open is Ermer Jone’s soul food restaurant located at the former Chatham Street Cafe. We are keeping our fingers crossed that this is open by the end of January. We will post more info about this exciting development when we finally are able to catch up with the new establishment’s owner.

These most recent additions add to other businesses that we saw added to downtown in 2011. These include:

Lynn’s Treasure Chest

At Lynn’s Treasure Chest, owner Lynn Rogers sells gifts and offers classes. Lynn has recently partnered with Best Friend Pet Adoption (BFPA) to help owners adopt pets to their forever homes. Next door,  Belen Divine specializes in wedding gowns. They sell both new and used, can handle custom tailoring and just added their own line: “Carmen Belen”  . Both stores are located at 149 East Chatham formerly “Calvin’s Salon”.

Beautimous Beads

Bridgette Bordonaro opened Beautimous Beads in June after buying the former Bedazzeled store in the current location. Bridgette offers a wide array of custom beads, jewelry and gifts, classes and camps. The store is next to Ashworth’s Drug at 107 West Chatham Street.

Designed-to-Sold

Next door, Shanna Middleton relocated her real estate and staging company, Designed-To-Sold in December. Shanna offers more than a listing- she will assist sellers in staging their homes for a quick sale, and handles other interior design projects. We wrote about her outreach project  where her business renovated a home for a disabled couple in Raleigh last fall.

MMI Public Relations

Earlier last year, we reported about Patty Briguglio’s decision to move her PR company MMI to her new Downtown location at 223 East Chatham Street (story). With so many Cary clients, the location made a lot of sense. She has already become a vocal member of the downtown business circle.

Purple Polka Dot

The Purple Polka Dot (story) opened in June in the former Flower Cupboard house at 114 South Academy Street. Owner Kristin Gurganus does a great job keeping her windows cheery with colorful gift and furnishings displays.

Dorry’s Downtown

When The Food Factory left Cary for Duke University, everyone wondered what would we do about breakfast downtown? The answer was Dorry’s Downtown that opened up shortly thereafter, owned and operated by Ray Dorry. Ray is a former New Yorker but has lived in Cary for over 20 years. He knows his way around a deli sandwich!  They also have my new favorite: great egg and potato wrap sandwich that I get with a spinach tortilla. With free WiFi and open as early as 7:30 you can have an early morning meeting and be on your way. Dorry’s is located at 211 east Chatham Street.

Styles Fitness

This past April, Autumn Hibberd opened a new type of fitness studio. The business is called Styles Group Fitness and offers the intensity of a personal trainer with the lower cost of group classes. Located in the Chocolate Smiles building on West Chatham Street, members decide how many sessions they wish to attend per week and for how many months and are priced accordingly. Classes are offered Sunday- Friday and usually have 3-8 members. Classes are tailored to who attends and focus on strength and core training.

What’s Next?

These new and many other established businesses join the efforts that the Town of Cary has engaged in to create a vibrant Downtown Cary Experience. Rumors abound about a Pub, a coffee shop and other private investors.

CaryCitizen will be reporting on these developments as they occur. We hope we captured all the recent developments, but feel free to comment at the bottom of this story (online) if we missed something. Know of any other newcomers that will be opening soon? Email Lindsey Chester and she will be sure to meet the newcomers.

Story from staff reports. Photo by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC – Today, we introduce a column called Downtown Cary This Week.

Thursday: Ben Shivar at HoCA

On Thursday morning at 8, Town Manager Ben Shivar will be the guest speaker at the Heart of Cary Association monthly meeting.

Ben will undoubtedly focus on developments in the downtown area. The Town has been active in the last year buying property and making plans for a revival of this centrally important district.

Expect a lively crowd with some pointed questions, like the discussion last year about Inspections & Permitting.

Details

Heart Of Cary Association
Guest Speaker – Town Manager Ben Shivar

Thursday January 5, 2012 at 8 AM
Cary Chamber
307 North Academy Street
Cary, North Carolina 27513

Cost: Free

Friday: Jazz at Unwine’d

Just before Christmas, Unwine’d opened in Downtown Cary.

Thursday, they’ll be having a complimentary wine tasting. And on Friday, there’s jazz starting at 8.

Details

Unwine’d
Olde Cary Commons
201 W. Chatham Street
(corner of Harrison)
Cary, NC 27511

Story and photo by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC – Coming on the heels of our one millionth story view, CaryCitizen kicks off 2012 with several new improvements. Most notably, we’re please to announce that Jeff Strowe is joining the organization as our first full-time Manager of Media Services.

Meet Jeff Strowe

Some of you may already know Jeff from his previous stint as a high school teacher at Green Hope and Enloe here in Wake County.

As Manager of Media Services, Jeff’s job is to serve local businesses and organizations and help them communicate in a digital world. He’s the quintessential creative technologist, easy-going and at the same time, analytical.

Jeff was born in Akron, OH but grew up in Raleigh where he graduated from Cardinal Gibbons. He earned his B.A. in English from App State and an M.Ed. in Counseling from NC State.

“I’ve known a lot of kids and parents as a teacher,” Strowe said. “Cary is a very active and involved community.”

Strowe continued, “CaryCitizen clearly fills a need for local journalism and helping businesses to communicate. I’m excited to be here.”

Also New for 2012 – Updated Design

While some organizations take a year or more to upgrade the design of their websites, we did it over the weekend.  Just one more reason we love Open Source websites.

The updated CaryCitizen website design has lots of small changes, but the biggest difference is an increase in the size of pictures we can use in CaryCitizen stories – up to 600 pixels across. The old standard was 480 px, so that’s a big difference.

The home page is organized much the same as in the old theme – we didn’t want to promote Future Shock by moving everything around. But you’ll notice more line space in the text, and a serif font, making it easier to read.

We’ve also added a second Big Box ad on the home page and killed off the footer ad. Bottom line for advertisers – more of our most popular ad zone and more exposures above the fold.

One more dramatic change – archive view now features big pictures instead of tiny thumbnails. As an example, take a look at the new archive layout for the Food category.

Stay in Touch

Let us know how you like the new design. And say hi to Jeff if you see him around town.

Story and photo by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC – It’s been a leisurely week here at CaryCitizen with just a few stories published. But it was a hectic 2011, capped by passing an important milestone heading into new year.

Topping 1 Million Total Views

We started CaryCitizen in July of 2009. Our lifetime stats as of December 29, 2011:

1.073 Million Total Views of CaryCitizen

That’s a happy milestone. Grateful thanks to all our loyal readers, contributors and commenters.

This year alone, we had over 350,000 web page views, up from 245,000 in 2010.

With your help, we can reach 500,000 in 2012. Keep forwarding those articles to friends and recommending us online and in-person. We appreciate the support more than you can know.

CaryCitizen in 2012

We’ll kick off 2012 on January 2 with some important announcements about additions to CaryCitizen’s products and staff.

Overall, we expect 2012 to prove a better business climate than we’ve seen in the past few years. Raise a toast to the new year and don’t forget to eat your Hoppin’ John.

Best Wishes from All of Us at CaryCitizen

On behalf of all the writers, editors, photographers and contributors to CaryCitizen, best wishes to all our readers and supoporters for a healthy, happy and prosperous new year.

Hal
——————-
Hal Goodtree
Publisher
CaryCitizen

Story by Lindsey Chester. Photo by Benjamin Haas.

Cary, NC- I’m from the Northeast, so when I moved here more than a decade ago and attended a neighbor’s New year’s party, I didn’t quite understand the motive for a batch of beans cooking on the stove.

Hoppin’ John – History and Lore

It’s a North Carolina tradition. Apparently those little black-eyed peas represent the money you will be bringing in by the bag-full in the New Year to come. Here’s some lore I learned:

The peas are symbolic of pennies or coins, and a coin is sometimes added to the pot or left under the dinner bowls.Collard greens, cooked along with this dish are supposed to add to the wealth since they are the color of money.Another traditional food, cornbread, can also be served to represent wealth — being the color of gold.

During the late Middle Ages, there was a tradition of eating beans on New Year’s Day for good luck in parts of France and Spain. The European tradition mixed with an African food item to become a New World tradition. So eating Hoppin’ John, means we’re cultured. I like that even more.

One tradition common in the Southern USA is that each person at the meal should leave three peas on their plate to assure that the New Year will be filled with Luck, Fortune and Romance. Another tradition holds that counting the number of peas in a serving predicts the amount of luck (or wealth) that the diner will have in the coming year.

Luckily I happen to like beans, just about every kind, so I will be raking in the dough after I make a batch of Hoppin John and eat a bowl this January 1. Join me!

Some people like to put bacon or a ham hock in with the beans when they cook. This actually bumps up your nutritional value, by increasing the protein in the beans.

Hoppin’ John Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1T olive oil
• 1 medium onion diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2- 15oz cans of black-eyed peas (rinsed and drained)
• 1/4 C vegetable stock or water
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 green onoins, thinly sliced
• 1/4C flat leaf parsley, minced

Serve With:

• cooked rice
• shredded white cheddar cheese
• and hot sauce

To Make:

Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add onion, red bell pepper, and garlic. Saute until onions are transluscent, about 5 minutes

Stir in the black-eyed peas, broth, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low, cook 10 minutes.

Serve on top of cooked rice, and garnish with cheese. Add hot sauce if desired.

I’ll be counting my millions by next December for sure! Happy New Year everyone!

Story by Lindsey Chester, photos by Brooke Meyer

Cary, NC- The Cary Players rang in the Christmas season this past weekend at the Cary Arts Center with the stage version of the holiday chestnut “Its a Wonderful Life”.

The tale of George Bailey has been a perrenial favorite since Frank Capra produced the film starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed in 1946.

The story begins with George Bailey (played nobly by Jon Karnofsky) about to jump from a bridge thinking he is “worth more dead than alive” when he believes he is facing prison and financial ruin. “Angel second class”, Clarence Odbody (Lyman Collins in a fanciful turn),  tries to stop him. Much like A Christmas Carol, Clarence takes George back through his life to point out all the positive impact he has had on others.

George regrets never leaving his hometown, and thinks he has not accomplished his dreams. Now with certain bankruptcy facing him, he believes his life has truly been a waste. It is up to the angel to prove him otherwise. George exclaims “I wish I’d never been born!” at which point Clarence turns the scene to how life in Bedford Falls would be if George had never lived. A brother he’d saved, would have died instead of being awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, bank loans he made would not have happened, and folks would have remained in slums not homes.

On Christmas Eve George comes to realize his life does matter. And in the end, all the people whose lives he has helped, come to his aid with money to bail him out of his financial woes.

Director Jaret Preston, has done a great job with casting. Lyman as Clarence is hilarious speaking up to Heaven. Jon Karnofsky as George has a tough act to follow in Jimmy Stewart, but does a fine job. Another standout was Fred Yaffe as Henry Potter whose aim is to take over Bedford Falls. Several characters have no lines, but managed to steal the scenes in which they appeared. I especially liked Bob Grannon’s silent “goon” as Mr Potter’s sideman.

The season wouldn’t be complete without some feel good productions and this was among our area’s finest. It is a tale of hope, and common decency among neighbors and friends. Always welcome this time of year to remind us of how much we do matter.

The Cary Players this season are adapting films to the stage. Their next production in February will be Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None”.

Cary, NC – Lori Bush, the newly elected member of Town Council, had set up a meeting with colleagues this morning at It’s A Grind in Stonecreek Village. But when she showed up at the popular coffeehouse, she was surprised to find the doors locked and the furniture gone.

“Did you know about this?” she asked me during an early morning phone call.

Okay, it was 9 am, but that’s early for me. I apparently live on West Coast time. ”I did not,” I told her.

After shuffling around the gym for about an hour, I worked my way over to Stonecreek to see for myself.

A sign on the back door says that It’s a Grind gift cards will be redeemable at the Raleigh store.

Just in case you’re not clairvoyant, here’s the address of the Raleigh store:

5001 Falls of Neuse Rd.
Quail Corners Shopping Center
Raleigh, NC 27609
(919) 239-4612

From the Stonecreek in Cary, it is 22 miles/34 minutes. Map link.

Silver Lining

Yes, dear readers, there is a silver lining to this story.

First and foremost, it’s gives us the opportunity to mention Crema Coffee Roasters just across the street from the now defunct Grind. Crema is one of our Go Local favorites and an actual local business, not a franchise from Long Beach, California. Hopefully, Crema will see an uptick in business without the nearby competition from Grind.

Secondly, the demise of It’s a Grind in Cary opens up a prime retail spot in Stonecreek. Stonecreek is cooking, but lots of other quality retail space has come online in the area including Park West. Maybe property managers will have to get a little more aggressive on pricing, creating an opening for true local businesses that can put down roots, grow and prosper.

In the meantime, take your trade across the street to Crema if you are in the vicinity of Davis and High House.

Story by Lindsey Chester. Photo by Chris Adamczyk.

Cary, NC- Cary Players holds their own version of the Oscars known as the Pietzsch Awards. Nominees for this year were recently announced, causing a media frenzy. Maybe you know someone on the list.

Cary Players 2011 Pietzsch Award Nominees

The 2010-2011 theater season produced 5 plays including an original script by Cary resident, Phil Lowden. It also marked the last season that the troupe performed the Valentine’s favorite ensemble production, Love Bits and Bites, at Page-Walker.

Starting in this fall, the Cary Players will have residency at the new Cary Arts Center. The first production will be Once Upon a Mattress.

The awards with the hard to pronounce name (actually sounds like “peach”) is named for a fellow Cary Player and board member, Wilson Pietzsch, who performed in all of the Players productions until his untimely death in 2006.

From their website: The Pietzsch Awards, named in his honor, are designed to recognize individuals who exemplify Wilson’s special blend of dedication, acting ability, volunteerism, and good humor. With these awards, Cary Players hope to build and maintain a tradition of community theater excellence for which Wilson set the standard.

If you missed the season (shame on you!), CaryCitizen saw almost everything and you can read about them below as they are each nominated for an Outstanding Show.

Outstanding Show:
Ruby Red
Over the River and Through the Woods
Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus
Love Bits & Bites: The Sixth Sense
Puss in Boots

The following folks have been nominated for their performances. Winners will be announced at the Pietzsch Awards Night held at the Cary Arts Center on September 9, 2011.

Outstanding Performance by an Actress:
Gilly Conklin - Love Bit & Bites: The Sixth Sense
Jacqueline Dorry -Love Bit & Bites: The Sixth Sense
Joanna Herath -Ruby Red
Gayle Robinson - Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus
Kate Tonner – Over the River and Through the Woods

Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress:
Noelle Barnard – Love Bit & Bites: The Sixth Sense
Gilly Conklin – Ruby Red
Rita Dimoulas – Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus
Alexandra Merz – Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus
Bonnie Roe – Love Bit & Bites: The Sixth Sense

Outstanding Performance by an Actor
Gus Allen - Puss in Boots
Tracy Fulghum - Ruby Red
George Kaiser - Puss in Boots
Clint Lienau - Love Bit & Bites: The Sixth Sense
Jeff Nugent – Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus
Jason Peck – Over the River and Through the Woods

Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor
Chris Bynum – Puss in Boots
Lyman Collins – Ruby Red
Tracy Fulghum – Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus
Nick Karner – Ruby Red
Mark Mickunas -Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus
Harvey Sage – Over the River and Through the Woods

Outstanding Musical Performance
Dena Byers and Courtney Slocum – Love Bits & Bites: The Sixth Sense – Nightingale
Gilly Conklin and Greg Tarsa – Love Bits & Bites: The Sixth Sense -
Enter My Dreams
Angie Davis, Bonnie Roe, and Joyce Weiser – Love Bits & Bites: The Sixth Sense Stars and Moons
Alexandra Merz – Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus -
Merry Little Christmas
Joanna Herath, Jeri McKee, Bonnie Roe and Megan Woronka -
Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus – Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy

Congratulations to all the nominees!

From the blog of Cary Mayor Harold Weinbrecht, covering the week through May 22, 2011. Photo of Academy Street by Hal Goodtree.

This week started off with a little golf outing in Augusta and ended with my 2011 campaign re-election kickoff event. In between was the first budget work session, a joint meeting of the Cary/Morrisville subcommittee, and a few hours picking up litter.

Monday: Augusta National – Sticking to Tennis

On Monday I had the privilege to play the Augusta National as part of their appreciation for my volunteering to work the Masters Golf tournament. The Masters is the most prestigious golf tournament in the world and I am blessed to be a part of it. Anyway, as usual, the course ate me up and spit me out. I really didn’t have any good holes and quit keeping score after about 3 holes. Thank goodness for tennis!

Tuesday: Standing Up for the CPD

Tuesday it was back to work. In the afternoon I met with the finance director, town manager, town clerk, and staff members to sign bond papers. In the past there have been large stacks of documents to sign. This time there was just a few.

After signing documents I met with the town manager briefly before the work session. My discussion with him was on our police department. They have taken a lot of hurtful comments from the media that were not deserved and I wanted him to know that the police department had my support. I issued the following email in response to a staff email that thanked all the departments in the Cooper case:

“Thank you for copying me on this email. I just want to express my sincerest thanks to our police department. Despite the assaults by the media you stood with integrity and in the end justice was done. I am so very proud to be an elected official of a town that has the greatest police department in the state. Thanks to all the men and women for all you do each and every day. Please know that you have my complete confidence and backing. And while I don’t usually speak for the council without asking, I am sure you have theirs too.

Great job! Take care!”

Tuesday: Town Budget Saves 36%

Later Tuesday we had our first work session on the budget. In the meeting we went over operating costs and capital costs at on overview level. Then we drilled down on each topic. Here are some of the points that I thought were noteworthy:

• Operating costs were up 4%
• Overall budget was close to $222 million which was a 36% decrease from last year
• Our tax base growth is expected to be 2.2% in fiscal year 2012
• We will hire 27 positions which include 15 firefighters (for the new station) and 10 police officers
• We will spend $500,000 for a rail corridor study. This will give us information and options to prevent our crossings from being closed.
• Our utility fees will increase by 5.9%. 60% of that is maintaining existing infrastructure and the rest is for the new wastewater plant.
• Our Out year Projection Tool, which is a worst case scenario version, shows our taxes will remain low for the next ten years (36.9). Of course that has always projected a tax increase since I have been on council and we haven’t raised taxes in over 20 years.
• Capital outlays include $8 million for downtown with the focus between Harrison and Walker Streets.
• Special facilities with interlocal funding include improvements for the soccer park, USA baseball training complex, and the tennis center.

Our next work session on the budget will be at 4:30 PM on May 26th.

Wednesday: School of Government

Wednesday I attended the graduation ceremony for the School of Government. The ceremony started with a presentation on downtown by Ed Gawf, the downtown manager. I, along with the council members in attendance answered questions. I addressed about four questions including one on quasi-judicial hearings and one on relationships between towns. After the questions I, and the other council members, handed out the class certification and congratulated the graduates.

Thursday

Meeting with Wake County Commissioner West

Thursday evening I met with Wake County Commissioner James West. We talked for about 45 minutes on a variety of issues.

I was the 6th or 7th Wake County mayor he has met in his quest to talk with all the mayors. In our conversation he spoke about some of the great things local leaders have done in the past few years. Some of the people he spoke highly of were Mayor Meeker and former elected officials Harold Webb and Vernon Malone.

One thing we both strongly agreed on was the importance of establishing relationships with fellow elected officials. I strongly believe it is healthy to have a wide variety of philosophies on a board. I also believe for a board to be effective they need to work together, listen to each other, put party politics aside, and work for the common good of all.

While this is stating the obvious, it is not what is happening in most elected bodies today.

Cary-Morrisville Subcomittee

Thursday evening I participated in a joint meeting of the Cary and Morrisville subcommittee. Elected officials attending for Morrisville included Mayor Holcombe, Mayor Pro-Tem Martin, and council member Diehl. Elected officials for Cary included council member Robinson for one item and me.

Highway 54 Corridor Study

The first topic of discussion was the Highway 54 corridor study. According to Morrisville staff this study will be the first of three phases of study and uses a DOT study. The first phase will study the corridor from Morrisville to Maynard Road in Cary. The first phase of the study is estimated to take 1 ½ to 2 years. Once it is completed the towns should be in a great position to apply for grants.

Town Boundaries

The second topic discussed was boundary issues. Staffs from both towns looked at development plans to see if key intersections on boundaries matched or had any conflicts. They provided a map that included the Airport Boulevard area, the Twin Lakes/Davis Drive area, the Manchester Park/McCrimmon Parkway area, the McCrimmon Park and Old Maynard Road area, and the Twin Lakes and McCrimmon Parkway area. The map showed the land uses from both towns and the staff and committee discussed potential conflicts in planning interest.

C-Tran Mo’ville?

The third topic was extending C-Tran service into Morrisville. Morrisville staff reported that they are still trying to scope the work and the demand from their citizens. Their best guestimate is that it might be $100,000 in cost to Morrisville. It is interesting to note that one penny on the tax rate in Morrisville equates to roughly $300,000. Morrisville will provide additional information at our next joint meeting.

Authority

Our final topic for discussion was on legislative authority. Staffs provided a handout to show what authorities each municipalities had. I didn’t see any authorities that Morrisville had that did not include Cary. On the other hand, Morrisville lacked several authorities that Cary had. Both Mayor Holcombe and I agreed that we should know more so we asked staff provide information of all authorities in Wake County especially related to fees.

The committee ended the night by deciding to hold our next meeting on Monday, November 14th in Morrisville at 6:30.

Saturday: Clean Up, Adcock Campaign

Saturday I participated in the Spring Litter Sweep which is part of our SPRUCE litter reduction and beautification program. I along with a few Cary citizens picked up litter along US1 from Cary Parkway to Walnut Street. I estimate we had about 20 bags of garbage and about 10 bags of recyclable materials. The most unusual item was a king size mattress. Usually we find money on the litter sweeps but apparently people have been holding on to money tight. We were only able to find a quarter.

Saturday afternoon I attended council member Adcock’s campaign kickoff. Gale has been a tremendous asset to council and a great leader for Cary. She has my support and I wish her the best of luck.

Sunday: Campaign Kickoff

Sunday I held my campaign kickoff at Davis Drive Park. We had about three dozen folks show up including one TV crew. After about 30 minutes or so I gave a few comments that talked about our past and where we are headed in the future. Council members Portman and Adcock were also in attendance and gave brief comments.

My Daughter

This week was also significant to me personally. My youngest daughter attended her last day of school.

It seems like last year that she was headed off to the first grade. I can still see her walking into the first day of school without looking back with a book bag as big as she was. It is unbelievable how fast time flies. She will be graduating this Friday.

Over the years her school had kept several of her papers and she gave me a poem she wrote in 2008 titled “The Mayor”:

The Mayor

Each day he serves everyone but himself,
Each hour he thinks on so selflessly,
And each minute he does more than many dream.
Everyone knows of him,
Everyone watches him while he works,
Yet everyone expects more.
Every day he tries harder than the last,
Every hour he loves more than before,
And every minute he receives less.
His heart bigger than any,
His job harder than most,
But his love more special than any other.
Running the town every day,
Not seeing his family every day,
And they wonder why the job is so hard.
Each day he lives the best he can,
Every day he works as hard as he can,
Yet no one notices.

I am so humbled by my daughter’s words. Seeing her graduate on Friday will be bitter sweet. I am so very proud of her.

Email

Emails this week included complaints about the apartment proposal at Tryon Road and Cary Parkway, a comment about the Bowden sign case, a complaint about a blocked drain, a complaint about a 911 tape, a complaint about the proposed budget, and several invitations to end of school events.

Next week will be a typical week and includes a taping of Cary Matters, a budget work session, and a council meeting.

Well that is all for this week. My next post will be on Sunday, May 29th. Please feel free to email me with a comment. Email all Town of Cary questions or comments to Harold.Weinbrecht@townofcary.org. Email personal comments to augustanat@mindspring.com.